Aeronautical device.



C. W. CORNELL, Jn.

AERONAUTICAL DEVICE.

APPucATmN FILED Aucma. 1914.

1,172,198. Patented 11611111916.

THE COLUMBIA PLANoRAPl-l C0.. WASHINGTON. D. c.

narran earns rarnnr rien.

CHARLES lV. CORNELL, JB., OF SAN FRANCISCO, CALIFORNIA, ASSIGNOR OF ONE-HALF T0 WILLIAT/I N. TJCCAW, OF SAN FRANCESCO, CALIFORNIA.

AERONAUTCAL DEVICE.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Feb. 15, 1916.

Application iilec'i August 1.3, 1914. Serial No. 856,700.

To @ZZ 'whom t may concern.'

Be it known that l, CHARLES W. ConnnLL, Jr., a citizen oi' the United States, residing in the city and county of San Francisco, State of California, (whose post-oihce address is 600 Geary street,) have invented a new and useful Aeronautical Device, of which the following` is a specification.

rihis invention relates more particularly to sailing devices, adapted to glide up and down upon the tethering line ot lying kites.

This invention is designed more particularly as an amusement device, but it is also a practical utility tor carrying up scientific instruinentssuch as barometers, thermometers, cameras, and scientific instruments for meteorological observations at great heights.

Vl`his invention can also be used to carry up bombs, pyrotechnical displays, and other objects to be exploded or dropped from a height.

Among the objects ot this invention are to provide an aerial glider adapted to en* gage a kite line up which it is carried by wind pressure, until it reaches the kite, whereat, the sail or plane will be automatically released, permitting the device to glide down the string.

Other objects and advantages will appear as the description progresses.

In the drawing accompanying and form ing part of the present specification, to which like reference characters have been applied, a simple form of putting this invention into practice is shown. do not wish to be understood as confining this invention to the disclosure made in said drawing and description, as many variations may be introduced, within the spirit of this invention as deiined in the claim succeeding the said description. Y

1n the drawings the ligure illustrates a perspective view of a glider constructed in accordance with this invention, showing the sail in the ascending position.

1n detail, the construction illustrated in the drawings includes the vertical mast 1, having the downward extension 2, provided with a counterbalancing pendulum 3, to maintain the mast substantially perpendicular in operation.

The mast is supported by a runner 4, rigidly attached at 5 to the mast and having the spiral guides 6 at each end adapted to engage the kite line. The sail 7 is provided with the upper and lower arms 8 and 9, and is secured to the mast at the bottom by the bracket 10 `fixed on the mast above' and transversed to the runners 4, the opposite ends 01 the bracket are bent into the loops 'l1-11 encircling the lower cross arm 9 to act as a pivot or hinge upon which the sail swings when released from the perpendicular.. .The sail is held in the perpendicular position by the latch 12 pivoted at 13 on the top of the mast; the latch has the extension 14 engaging the loop 15 attached to the upper arm 8 ot' the sail. The latch 12 is held in the operative position bv the cord 16. extending from the latch downward under the arm 9 and outward to the end 17 of the trigger 18, pivoted at 19, on the pivot 20, attached to the runner adjacent to the spiral guides 6. The trigger 18 is held inthe normal position by the tension of' the coil spring 21, attached to the end of the trigger and to the runner at 22, to hold the cord 16 taut.

The invention is operated as follows:- Presuining the kite to be under control at a desirableheight. r1`he glider is attached to the kite string by reeving the string into the spiral guide 6 6, the string being taut cannot be dislodged :from the guides except by proper manipulation. The sail is latched up in the position shown in Fig. 1, the tension of the spring 21 operating` to hold the latch in the position to lock the sail in this position. The pendulum weight holds the mast upright, and the sail at the proper drawing angle to the kite line, omitted from the main crawing to avoid confusion of lines. The glider mounted upon the kite line as described is forced upward upon the line by the same wind pressure that causes the kite to soar. Under this wind pressure the sail carries the glider up the kite line until the extension Q3, on the trigger 18, abuts the disk 24, attached to the kite line at any desired point, preferably near the kite. rPhe abutment of the trigger against the disk 2&1-, swings the trigger on its pivotal center 19, against the tension of the spring 21, which causes the cord 16 to slacken, releasing the latch 14: from engagement with the loop 15; the wind pressure causing the sail to disengage from the latch, and assume a substantially horizontalV position parallel with the runner The ec ege 9 of the sail is the only resistance presented to the wind pressure in the descent, the glider not now liavine` any sustaining' power descends the kite line El by gravity. its descent being augmented by the Weight 8.

rl`he ascent and descent of the glider as described is an occasion of great joy and entertainment to juvenile kite-fliers, yand a fruitful source of instruction in elementary aeronauties. rlhe sail can .be given various shapes and contour such for instance as the cross section now generally adopted in aeree planes which will cause the glider to glide slowly down the string, or ascend. or descend rapidly according' to individual adjustments that may suggest themselves to the operator.

The glider is particularly advantageous in taking' meteorological observations, as various recording' instruments can be sent up. at anjv period during' the riseA of the kite. the descending' glider bringing down the desired information Without the necessity and loss oin time of reeling' in the kite, the obser fations can also be made at short intervals and at Various heights es the kite' rises. Other scientific uses will lsuggest themselves in putting` this invention int practice; for instance, an object such as Y,

may be suspended on the hook 25 of the darts such es a target resting' upon the ground.

While l. here shown and described one desirable species embodying this intention, l do not wish to be imderstood as limiting this invention to the particular form herein shown and described. Y Y

Having' thus described this invention, what is claimed and desired to secure by Letters Patent is fr glider including' a runner having' spiral ,guides enA the opposite ends thereoilI a rigidly attached to seidrunner to i rin a lframe; :i sail pivcted on said freine. e latch pivoted onV said mast Yand engaging said sail; a trigger pivoted on said rui' r adjacent to and projectine` beyond tie end thereof; a linlr extending between seid latch and said trigger; a tensionl member adapted to hold said link taut; and ineens on said tri erger lor detachabli7 holding' an object.

ln testimony whereof I have hereunto set my hand this 17 th day or" July llet. CHARLES W.' CRNELL, Je. Witnesses:

BALDWIN VALE, WM. N. MCCAW.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for ve cents each, by addressing the' Commissioner of Patents, Washington, D. C. 

